Stabilized solutions of metallic



Patented Dec. 11, 1945 STABILIZED SOLUTIONS OF METALLIC SALTS Stanley B.Elliott, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Ferro Enamel Corporation,Cleveland, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio No Drawing. Application April 28, 1943,

. Serial No. 484,876

1 Claim.

This invention relates as indicated to stabilized solutions of metallicsalts, and more particularly to solutions used in or as paints and inwhich the metallic salts are used as driers.

These driers are generally, in their pure state, solids so that theircommercial occurrence are in the form of liquid solutionsin mineralspirits. These solutions are than added to the appropriate paint orvarnish base, and it is accordingly a further requisite of suchsolutions that they be capable of incorporation in the paint body by asimple mixing operation.

In order to be thus capable of ready admixture with the paint or varnishbody, the driers, with a minimum amount of a solvent such as mineralspirits, should have a relatively low viscosity so as to reduce to aminimumthe time and effort required for blending in such body.

The driers, either before or after admixture with the paint or varnishvehicle in which they are designed foruse, come in contact with minoramounts of water present generally as a foreign material in thecontainer. Such water generally results in a decomposition of thedriers, unless some stabilizing addition agent is used.

It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to providestabilizing agents which are effective not only to thus preventdecomposition, but which also decrease the viscosity of the solution ofthe drier, so that a maximum metal content may be incorporated in theultimate paint or varnish composition with a minimum of mixing time andeffort.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said inventionthen comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claim, the following description setting forth indetail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these beingindicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciple of the invention may be employed.

\ THE DRIERS The class of driers to which this invention is applicableare all water insoluble metal salts of certain organic acids. The metalswhich may be used in the preparation of such salts include thefollowing:

Table 1 Heavy metals: Iron Lead Copper Zinc Cadmium Manganese* MercuryCobalt Nickel Alkaline earth metals:

Calcium Barium Strontium The ones marked thus 0) are preferred forvarious reasons such as their cost, commercial availability, and generaleffectiveness.

The acids which may be used with any of the metals given in Table 1above in the preparation of the metallic salts or soaps which comprisethe driers of this invention include the following representative acids:

Table 2 Aliphatic acids:

Saturated acids:

Stearic acid Palmitic acid Lauric acid Unsaturated acids:

Linoleic acid Linolenic acid Oleic acid Cycloaliphatic acids: Naphthenicacid Complex acids:

Rosin oil acids Rosin acids Tall oil acids of this invention. For bestresults, however, only those resultant salts or soaps which are solublein a non-polar solvent such as any of the following, viz:

Table 3 Xylene Stoddards solvent Benzene V. M. 8: P. naphtha TolueneMineral spirits should be used.

, In the following table are given a number of specific examples ofdriers which will be found highly useful, and to which this inventionparticularly relates:

1 Table 4 THE ADDITION AGENT Sorbitol (hexahydric alcohol) This acts asa stabilizing agent for the solutions of the driers, and also favorablyinfluences the viscosity. As pointed out above, one of the desirablecharacteristics of metallic soap solutions used as driers in organicfinishes is that they have a viscosity low enough so that the solutionmay be poured and dispersed in oils with a minimum of effort. The amountof diluent, i. e., material other than the soap itself, which may beused is generally fixed so that it becomes important to select theproper diluent for this purpose.

The concentration within which the addition agent should be used in theliquid mineral spirits solution of the metallic salts above identifiedwill vary from about 1% to about 10% .by weight. It will be found thatconcentrations in the range of from about 2% to about 5% by weight willproduce best results.

Other modes of app y t e P p e of the invention may be employed, changebeing made as regards the details described, provided the featuresstated in the following claim or the equivalent of such be employed.

I, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as myinvention:

A new composition of matter comprising in solution form (a) a majorproportion of a water insoluble drier soap of a metal of the classconsisting of the heavy metals and the alkaline earth metals, (b) aminor amount of sorbitol, and (c) a non-polar solvent. STANLEY B.ELLIOTT.

